Eyes of Infinity
by KyraValo
Summary: CHAPTER 8 UP! Set in Marauder era. Sometimes there is a bond that two people share that is so strong that it may be weakened over time, but never completely broken. SBOC. Slight LEJP. Rating subject to change.
1. Reflections

**Eyes of Infinity**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. I do not own Sirius Black. If I did, I would be making money off of this fic, not staying broke. Also, if I did, Sirius would not be DEAD. Honestly J.K. Rowling really upsets me sometimes. Kills off one of the best characters like it's nothing. I mean, really do you know how much grief I was in when he died?! Honestly! Ahem...anyway…oh yes, I DO own Kat. She is my entirely made up character (I am so proud that I own something). But other than that, I own nothing…I am entirely broke. So if you sue me…you will get nothing…because I'm broke. Anyway, on with the fic.

From Kats POV 

**::Reflections::**

It was cold. The lighting was dim in the room, but I didn't care. I just couldn't seem to muster the energy to do so much as light a candle or even pull open the curtains to allow some of the moonlight to flow into the room. I just couldn't help letting myself slip into that state that's sort of like deep thought, where you're kind of spaced out and letting random thoughts flow through your mind. The only problem was that all the random thoughts seemed to have a single person in mind. I felt…Strange. Not just strange, but awkward. It was like everything that made up my life just…wasn't the same anymore. Well, it hadn't been the same for a while now, but I been convincing myself that everything was just the same.

I was interrupted by a knock at my window. It was a very light knock, but in the dead silence of my room, it was still enough to startle me. I sighed. Perfect timing as usual. I got up and went to the window, opening it quietly so no one would hear. "What are you doing here?" I asked, rather pointlessly. He might as well have lived here, as much as he came here.

"Got bored," was the only forthcoming reply. Of course that's the kind of response I would have expected anyway. I could understand his reasoning for coming. I mean, living in a house like that with all those stuck up prats, constantly going on about pureblood madness, it was enough to make anyone want to leave. And naturally, he wouldn't say that it was that very reasoning that made him come all the way over here to seek solace and normalcy at my house. Such was the way of thinking of Sirius Black.

He climbed in through my window with the stealth and secrecy of someone who had been doing it for a very long time, which in fact, he had. He then walked casually over to the small couch that was over to the left side of my room and sat down. Shaking my head, I closed the window and followed suit.

"Kinda dark in here, yeah?" he commented.

"Yeah. I guess it is." I replied.

"You get all your school shopping done?"

"Uh huh. Just finished it today."

"Oh."

There was this…growing distance between us. The gap had just been getting wider and wider as time went on. Maybe he sensed it too. He had to have sensed it. Otherwise, we both wouldn't be lapsing into silence like this. "So…you have another row with your parents?" I asked carefully. I regretted the statement as soon as it left my lips.

"There not my parents!" he began heatedly. He stood up from the couch and began pacing about restlessly, his black hair flowing carelessly about him. "Why would I want to be considered part of a family that's made up of lying arrogant bastards!" He stopped, seemingly to become conscious of what he was saying. "I'm sorry," he murmured, in a voice that was almost inaudible. "I just…never mind." And then the silence returned with a vengeance. He stood quietly with his head bowed and his back to me, and I sat stunned on the couch, not knowing what to say.

I automatically felt a stab of guilt for bringing the subject up. I knew that was what was bothering him, and there was a time when I could have helped. But there was that wall again, that growing distance that seemed to consume everything around us. "I didn't mean to…" I started.

"No, no it's not your fault." He flopped back down on the couch and sighed. "I guess…I just…needed a break. Or something." He looked at me as if searching for something. I returned his gaze, hoping that he would find whatever it was that he was looking for. Apparently he didn't because his next statement left me at a loss for words. "Guess I'll go now" he said, and rose and headed for the window.

"…Okay" I replied in a hollow sort of voice. I followed him to the window, wondering if there was anything I could say to make him stay, without botching the situation further and making him feel worse. But the more I tried to think of something, the more I realized that there was nothing I could say.

"Kat." The sound of my name snapped me back to reality. We were both standing at the window, in silence. I waited, feeling the uncomfortable stillness continuing to wrap itself around us. "So…I guess I'll see you on the train tomorrow then."

"Yeah." I agreed tonelessly.

"Alright…so…bye." He replied. And with that he climbed out the window, and down the tree, and was gone. I stood there for a few minutes, reflecting on what had just happened. Then, closing the window, I walked over to the other end of my room and sat down upon my bed.

"Wow, Kat, you're really something" I thought to myself. "You had to go and bring up the one thing that he came all the way here to escape." Another pang of guilt assailed me.

"But it was only natural for you to try and talk to him about it." Another voice inside me argued. "After all, you used to be able to talk to him about anything.""Used to" being the key words. It was driving me crazy. Here I was, ready to start my 6th year at Hogwarts. Passing grades, plenty of friends, what more could I want? I mean, the loss of one person can't possibly outweigh how much I have gained over the years. Never mind that the one person I'm slipping away from is the person I have known since I was 4 years old, and the closest friend I have ever or will ever have. I sighed, and threw myself back on my pillow, trying vainly to reason things out.

Sirius Black was probably one of the most difficult people to ever understand or get close to. But once someone was able to break through those walls, it was well worth it. And now all those walls were coming up again. I remembered his eyes as he spoke. They were so pained. The most beautiful crystal blue eyes I had ever seen before were just so tormented, almost like there was a demon inside trying to get out. And yet there was nothing that I had been able to do to ease his pain. That one fact was the one that hurt the most of all. If there were anything at all that I could do to prevent such pain, I would have done it gladly. But I remain powerless against it. It had never been this way before…

**::Flashback::**

It was late afternoon, and I was bored. I tried to think of something to do, something that would occupy my attention for a while, but every idea I came up with was as unappealing as the next. Ok, so maybe I wasn't bored, just nervous. Although, everyone else seemed really excited, I remained uptight and a nervous, and a bit scared. So I had resigned myself to sitting in my room with some music playing in the background in order to calm my nerves, and maybe help me to forget about what was coming the next day.

The knock at the window came as a welcome surprise. I sprang to the window, glad of the company. "Sirius," I exclaimed happily. "What are you doing here, I thought today was that big party thing at your house?" The last I had heard, his parents were going to have a going away party for him. Maybe I had mistaken the day…

"Yeah, some party. I told you, Kat. Any sort of party at my house is just a lame excuse for the whole family to get together and talk about other families behind their backs." He shrugged. Then he cocked his head to the side and added as an afterthought "Oh, and yell at me for tarnishing the family name, and warn me not to continue my disreputable behavior when I get to Hogwarts." Then he smirked. "Besides, I'd much rather be at my best friends house on her birthday that at my house any day. It's not every day that you turn eleven you know."

I watched as he walked carelessly into the room. I shrugged, knowing full well that his family was horrible to him. "You shouldn't say that about your family, even if it is true." I stated. "And you shouldn't act like it doesn't effect you, because it does!" I added, letting some anger well up in me.

"I know it affects me" he snapped back. "But it's easier to deal with if I laugh it off!" I flopped down unceremoniously on the couch, still angry, but unsure as to whether or not I wanted to start a fight over this. Sirius seemed to understand what was going through my head because he came over and sat beside me. "Listen, I don't want to fight about this either." He put an arm around me consolingly. "Trust me, I'm fine with how my family acts. Know why?" I shook my head. "Because I have you." He stated simply.

Now normally I would have responded with some comment or another, but that statement was so genuine that the only thing I could do was open my mouth several times as if I were going to answer, but no sound would come out. Sirius laughed. I turned and glared at him. "It's not funny." I said simply.

"Yes it is," he replied. He had one of those looks on his face like he was going to get all philosophical on me. I waited to see what he had to say. "Honestly, Kat, you're my best friend. I mean, it's good for my health that I have someone like you to rant about my family to. Because if I didn't, it would really get to me."

"Well goodie for me." I said dryly. I grinned. He rolled his eyes.

"Alright then, so here's another reason that I came over today." He stood up and pulled something out of his pocket and held it behind his back. "Which hand?" he asked innocently.

"What is it?" I asked eagerly.

"Guess the right hand and you'll find out, now won't you?" he said teasingly. His blue eyes sparkled mischievously. I considered for a moment before choosing his right hand. "Are you sure?" he taunted.

"If that's the hand that has something in it, I am." I replied.

"What if it's not?" he countered, smirking.

"Then I'll just have to pry it out of your other hand." I retorted. At this he laughed, and finally gave in. He presented me his right fist, which was still closed. He turned it so that his palm was facing upward and opened it. In his palm sat a small silver ring. I gasped. I picked it up to look at it more closely. On it was crafted the shape of a unicorn. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I had never seen a ring that had looked like this one before. "How…Where did you get this?" was all I could manage.

"Well," he started, tossing his long dark hair behind his shoulders. "There's this place I know of…a little place… and you can make stuff there. Like jewelry. I mean, not just normal jewelry. They like…use magic on it to make it better, and make it personal. So I went there, and I told the lady that you liked unicorns, and she helped me make it." He paused. "You do like it, don't you?"

I then proceeded to look at him like he was psycho. "What are you talking about, 'do I like it?' of course I do! It's beautiful!" I hugged him like there was no tomorrow.

"Alright, alright!" he said, loosening my grip on him. I slipped the ring on my finger and stared at it. "Oh yeah, and the lady, she put a charm on it so that it will shrink or expand to fit the wearers finger, so you won't ever outgrow it."

"Wow," I murmured. "I'll never take it off." I vowed quietly. "Magic really is something."

"Yeah." He replied. "Which brings me to my other reason for coming here today." His face grew solemn.

"What?" I asked, becoming a little edgy by the seriousness of his tone.

"Hogwarts." He said. And it was that word that reminded me with a pang of fear where I would be going the next day. Everyone else in the world seemed to be excited about going away to a new school, and learn about magic. Was I the only one that had doubts or fears about this? I mean, there were just too many 'what ifs' for my eleven-year-old brain to process. Sirius seemed to be expecting this sort of reaction, and he steered me over to the couch and sat me down. "Alright. Spill it." Was all he said. So I proceeded to tell him about how scared I was, how I didn't want to leave because what if it turned out that I didn't fit in at Hogwarts, how everything was happening so fast and September first was tomorrow and we had to leave already and everything was just crazy! And he didn't say one word the whole time. He just sat there and let me rant on, and get everything out into the open.

After a while, my protests stemmed to a halt, and quietness descended over the room. I had to admit that I felt a lot better now that at least my concerns had been voiced to someone other than my parents, who could only answer that 'everything would be fine once I got to Hogwarts' or 'it's perfectly normal for you to be nervous'. I felt a nudge on my arm. I looked over to find Sirius smiling reassuringly at me.

"I'd be lying if I said I knew for sure that everything was gonna be alright. But it can't be all that bad I don't think. I mean, I'm scared too, but from where I'm sitting, it can't be worse than living at my house. Look at it this way…at least we are going there together."

"But Sirius, what if we aren't in the same house!" I whimpered. "What if we get put in completely different houses, and we never have a single class with each other, and we never see each other at all!"

"Well then we will just have to MAKE some time where we see each other." He said resolutely. "Kat, I understand what your saying, and I'm nervous about it too. But if you think that I'm just gonna forget about the existence of my best friend if we get separated, you're crazier than I give you credit for. Even if we don't get put in the same house, we'll still be able to do things together. And if you ever need me for ANYTHING in the future, you know I'll be right there by your side." I suddenly felt relief wash over me. I leaned into Sirius and felt relaxed, and further worries about Hogwarts were no longer a problem.

**::End Flashback::**

I stared at the silver ring on my finger. How much had changed since then? Everything used to be so simple. I lay down on my bed and wondered how things could have changed so much without me realizing it. It was still true that Sirius' parents still treated him horribly, and still accused him of tarnishing the family name, but now he wouldn't even so much as come to me for support. Now he loses himself by having people surround him all the time. Different relationships with different girls every few days. Quidditch practice. Anything to take his mind off the pain. But although he acts as though nothing is wrong, as though his world is perfect, I can see through it all. It's his eyes that give him away.

I closed my eyes, hoping that sleep would come. Maybe tomorrow on the train things would be different. As I felt sleep come over me, all I could see were those startlingly blue eyes, looking back at me in anguish, hoping for a release from the pain.

Well that's the first chapter! Hope everyone liked it. EVERYONE R&R!!! I need some good reviews to keep me going, otherwise I lose interest. This is my first HP fanfic, but I've had this idea for a while now. I'm just now getting motivated to put it on here. Anywho… see ya next chapter!


	2. On The Hogwarts Express

**Eyes of Infinity**

**Author's Note:** Thanks to my 3 reviewers! Someone loves me! Yeay! I know there are more pplz out there reading this storie! Push the little SUBMIT REVIEW BUTTON at the bottom this time, mmkay!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it, wish I did, and then Sirius wouldn't be dead.

On with the show.

From Kat's POV 

**:Chapter 2 – On The Hogwarts Express:**

The alarm clock went off at 6:00A.M. sharp. I grimaced as the noise jolted me from my sleep. I sighed. At least when I was asleep I didn't have to be so stressed out, or worry about everything the way I did. In my dreams I could control what I did and how everyone reacted to it. My mind jumped back to the conversation I'd had with Sirius last night. Why was it that I could think of nothing but him? Whenever I tried to reason things out in my mind everything just got all mixed up. Sure, I was worried for Sirius, but there was nothing I could do about the growing void that was forming between us. My mother shouting from downstairs interrupted me from my thoughts.

"Kat, honey! Time to get up! Don't want your breakfast to get cold!"

"Alright mom." I yelled back, distractedly.

I felt like a zombie dragging myself out of bed and staggering over to my closet to pull out my clothes. I grabbed the first thing I put my hands on (a pair of jeans and a dark blue T-shirt) and headed downstairs. I entered the kitchen to find both my mom and dad already there. Mom was placing breakfast (pancakes and eggs) on the table. Both of them appeared so happy. Part of me was screaming 'how can they be so happy when my very soul is writhing inside me!' but I did my best to ignore that part and sit down at the table next to my dad.

"Excited about starting your 6th year?" he questioned.

"Oh, erm…yeah. I guess so." I replied, somewhat absently. The rest of breakfast consisted of mom asking me if I had packed everything in my trunk and reciting a list of just about everything under the sun that she thought I should bring. I had, of course, packed all my things the night before, and so I sat there, toying with the last bit of egg on my plate and answering her questions mechanically. Dad got up from the table and left the room, probably to get ready to leave for work. Everything in my house was such a ritual that I thought I might die of shock if something out of the ordinary happened.

"Katrina, dear. Is something wrong?" I heard mom say. I looked at her and saw that she had concern written on her face.

"No." I replied rather firmly. "I'm fine." She continued to give me that sort of 'you-say-you're-fine-but-I'm-your-mother-and-I-know-better' look for a few more seconds before she finally gave up and began clearing the dishes from the table. Of course I was fine. Everything was perfect. I was going to start 6th year off good. I was going to get to Hogwarts and have loads of fun.

_2 hours later…_

I was sure that sixth year was going to be the end of me. There was no possible way that I could feel this wretched and still survive. I walked in a daze towards the Hogwarts Express on platform nine and three quarters.

Everyone around me was saying goodbye to their families, and greeting old friends. Olive Brown, my fellow Gryffindor sixth year, was chatting animatedly with her crew; Frank Longbottom was walking hand in hand with his girlfriend, Alice. Everyone seemed excited and happy to be starting another year at Hogwarts. Not me, I thought decidedly. Not this time.

"Honey, are you sure that you've got everything?" my mom asked.

"Yes, mom, I'm sure," I replied. She had that concerned look on her face again. I just couldn't take it, so I gave her a big smile, grabbed my stuff and strode off into the crowd. I hate it when parents always suspect that they think they know what's going on. They try to tell you a story about them and hope that it fixes your problem in the process. Sometimes it actually works. Most of the time though, the talks aren't even related to the same subject.

I got on the Hogwarts Express and shoved my things onto a storage rack. The train was leaving in about five minutes, so everyone was cramming inside at once, trying to get on. Hurried goodbyes were spoken, last minute hugs and kisses exchanged. And then the train was off.

I shouldered through the crowd, looking for an empty compartment, or at least one with some friends or acquaintances in it. I passed several compartments, each full with different groups of individual people – one with first years that were nervously becoming acquainted with each other, one with gossiping girls sharing the latest juicy secrets with one another, one with a group of seventh years trying to show off in front of everyone. Everywhere seemed to be full. Normally I wouldn't have had this problem, because I would have left my house earlier and been one of the first ones here. However, this time I was so busy feeling miserable that it took me much longer to get ready than normal.

I sighed and continued on, deciding that any compartment that wasn't full was going to have to do…unless of course, it was filled with Slytherins. I was just about to give up and settle myself in the hall somewhere when someone spoke.

"You can join our compartment if you want, Kat," I turned and found Remus Lupin standing behind me with a kind look on his face and a handful of sweets that he must have just gotten off the trolley. I grimaced inwardly. If I went with Remus, I would have a place to sit for the remainder of the trip. A place with nice people, all of whom I knew. However, if I went with Remus, I would most certainly have to see Sirius again, as he and the other 'marauders' never went anywhere without each other. The situation stunk so bad I could have cried, or screamed, or shouted, or any number of things. But, I resigned myself to my fate and responded with a small "Sure," to Remus' invitation.

He gave me a reassuring smile, and led me into the compartment. Everyone there was laughing and having a great time sharing stories of what had happened to them over the summer. There was James Potter, the quidditch star, who was talking energetically about the quidditch world cup with Peter Pettigrew, who hung on his every word, and a couple of girls. One of the girls was Lily Evans, the girl that hated James more than anything in the world. She clearly was not enjoying herself, and was only staying because her friends made her.

And then there was Sirius. He sat at the end of the compartment, switching between adding random comments into James' story, and entertaining his own flock of females. He appeared very jovial, and was laughing and making wild gestures to illustrate his point. It made my stomach twist.

I tried to convince myself that maybe Sirius was actually happy. He was surrounded by a crowd of people that adored him, and he was going back to Hogwarts, his true home. Yet I knew he wasn't _truly_ happy. I knew that Sirius could act better than anyone. It had been necessary for him to act, growing up in that corrupted house. He almost always appeared happy, even when he was dying inside.

I realized that I had been standing in the doorway staring for quite some time. Remus had gone and sat down near in the middle of the compartment, so he could participate in both major conversations. I…didn't know where to go.

I figured that sitting next to Remus would be my best bet, seeing as how he was the one who had invited me into the compartment in the first place. That way, if anyone questioned why I was here, I would have something to tell them.

I sat down and tried to act natural, like I was one of them. It was a rather hard thing to accomplish with the source of all my problems sitting just a few feet away from me, chatting happily and pretending not to see me. He was in his element. Sirius had always loved to be the center of attention. After all, when he was busy telling fascinating stories and gaining a huge fan base of girls, there really wasn't time for dwelling on more painful matters. I watched him talk, charismatic and charming. His blue eyes danced as he spoke, and his black hair fell into his eyes so that he would be forced to brush it away every few seconds.

"Brooks! Hey, Brooks!"

I was startled out of my reverie at the sound of my last name. I looked around for the speaker. Lily Evans waved both arms in the air dramatically as if she were flagging down an airplane. "Sheesh, are you zoned out or what today?" she said, laughing, "I've just been sitting here chatting to myself for the past five minutes I guess!"

"Sorry…I was just thinking about something."

"Anyway," Lily continued, "I was asking you about your summer, but I guess you wouldn't know about that would you?" she gave a small smirk.

"Oh…um…it was fine." I replied. This was the last thing I wanted to talk about, especially with Sirius sitting not too far away from me.

"Yeah?" Lily persisted, "So what'd you do?"

"I…er…actually it was pretty boring…just stayed at home…relaxed and stuff." I was becoming increasingly agitated. Lily seemed to notice this, and she did not inquire any further into it. I sat there for a few more minutes, listening to everyone talk merrily. Except for Lily of course, who was trying desperately to get her friends to leave so that she wouldn't have to put up with James' fat head anymore. The other girls wouldn't have any of it though, and shook their heads determinedly at her. I smiled and shook my head. Why couldn't she just go on one date with James and get it over with? She might even learn to like him. I chuckled to myself, thinking of the probability of this actually happening. Suddenly a large outburst of laughter came from Sirius' end of the compartment.

"And then," Sirius said excitedly, "I walked right out of the store! With the dungbombs in my pockets and everything! I swear, the shop owners need to make it a little more competitive, y'know?" All the girls around him were either swooning or laughing. I shook my head. He was putting on another grand show, and everyone around him was eating out of his hand.

"Hey, we're nearly there," I heard Lily say through all the laughter; "We should go and get changed." The other girls nodded and got up to leave. I rose as well, figuring it best to go ahead and get changed now, as opposed to wait until the last minute when everyone would be scrambling about like mad again. Remus smiled at me and gave me a polite 'goodbye'. I returned the smile and headed for the door. Sirius continued to pretend I didn't exist.

I followed the other girls and got changed into my Hogwarts uniform. I tried to forget all the worries that had been hounding me all morning, but it was turning out to be very difficult. All the girls were chatting cheerfully, and I tried really hard to contribute to the conversation, but my mind always kept drifting back towards Sirius. I decided that this was definitely not a good thing, and if the whole year was going to be as painful as this, someone may as well just shoot me now and put me out of my misery. After all, it's not like Sirius actually returned my sentiments.

I spent the remainder of the trip discussing random things with Lily and the others. Stuff like quiddich season, new classes, new teachers, who was going to get the most detentions this year, etc. For awhile, I forgot everything, and I was happy. I relaxed, laughing and having a great time. The train came to a stop, and we all started filing out of the train.

I had to admit, I was happy to finally be back at Hogwarts. It just felt…natural to be here. I looked up at the castle that I would soon be inside. The castle that had been my second home for the past 6 years. Maybe this year would turn out ok after all.

"Kat," The voice jolted me, and I turned quickly around to see Sirius standing right behind me.

"Yeah," I said, almost timidly. I was nervous about last night, and I didn't want to make the distance between us any further by saying something stupid.

"You ok?" Sirius asked. There was a bit of concern in those blue eyes, and for a moment, I relaxed, seeing the Sirius I had once knew in them.

"Yeah," I lied, trying to sound cheerful, "Yeah, I'm fine. This year should be great."

"Really? Because you don't look very 'fine' to me," Sirius stated plainly. But then the concern left his features, and was replaced by a look of nonchalance. He shrugged, "But I guess you are, since you say so. Guess I must need my eyes checked." He tossed his long black hair behind him, and headed off into the crowd, catching up with James. Both boys left, talking in loud, boisterous tones once more.

I stood there nonplussed for a good minute or so, wondering what had just happened. Why had he ignored me this whole time, and then asked if I was fine or not. Of course I wasn't fine! The best friend I ever had is suffering right before my eyes, and refuses to let me help. He also refuses to acknowledge my existence, apparently. I wanted to scream.

"Kat! Hey Kat! Are you gonna stand there all day? Hurry up!" Lily's voice rang out. She was standing by one of the horseless carriages, motioning me to get a move on.

"Coming!" I shouted back, and headed towards her. We climbed into the carriage that would carry us up to the castle. And so the new year begins, I thought, a mixture of excitement and dread running through me. Hopefully, it would be less confusing than today had been.

A/N: Well, that's chapter two! Sorry I took so long to update it! I got sidetracked on my numerous Tales of Symphonia fics, and then on my other storie that I am writing. Anywho, send reviews plz! They are greatly appreciated!


	3. Conversations and Thoughts

**Eyes of Infinity**

**Authors Note: **Thankz again to my wondermous reviewers! And here I was thinking that this was a not so good story lol. Anyways, here is the next chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything except Kat, and any other random characters I decide to invent, like Aryn Hillcrest.

From Kat's POV

**:Chapter 3: Conversations and Thoughts:**

We arrived at the castle just as the sun was setting. The excitement in the air was catching, and it was hard for even the most stubborn to not feel as if they were finally home. My apprehensions lessened as I fell into the steady flow of conversation with my friends.

We all filed into the Great Hall, to watch the sorting of the first years and enjoy the traditional feast. The Great Hall was as stunningly beautiful as ever, its long tables decked out for the feast that was to come. There was candlelight from hundreds of floating candles, and the enchanted ceiling depicted an accurate picture of the steadily darkening night sky.

I made my way over to the Gryffindor table and spotted my friend Aryn Hillcrest. I had been wondering where she had been for some time, as I hadn't seen her on the train at all. I sat down, and flashed a quick smile. "So, where _were_ you anyway?" I asked.

Aryn was the type of person you wanted to get to know. She just had that kind of magnetism about her. She had short black hair and dark eyes, and had an aura around her that made you want to be around her, to talk with her, to have her notice you. She always wore clothes that stood out in a crowd, varying from baggy clothes, to skin tight, to colorful, to various shades of black. Yet even in her Hogwarts robes, everyone knew that she stood out from the rest.

It still astounded me that Aryn was one the best friends I had. We were so different, me with my introspective demeanor, and she with her outgoing, forward personality, yet we were drawn to each other. And no matter how many other people Aryn befriended, she always returned to be by my side. Strange, how some things work out. She smiled at me now with a knowing smile.

"I wasn't on the train," she stated plainly.

"No, really?" I replied sarcastically, "I never would have guessed that in a million years!"

"I know it! It's because you're really dense," she said with a serious expression. She patted me on my back sympathetically.

"Oh, cut it out," I said exasperatedly, "Just tell me where you were!"

"Well, there was this really cute guy I met in Diagon Alley this morning when I was picking up some last minute stuff. He and I clicked right away, and he brought me here _personally_." Aryn gave me a wink.

I stared back at her, nonplussed, "Some guy?"

Aryn rolled her eyes and gave a huffy sigh, "Oh, forget it, Kat, it's no fun lying to you," she grinned, "Truth is, I woke up late, and then I forgot like half of my stuff on the way to the station, so mum had to bring me here herself."

"Special delivery," I joked.

"Yeah, whatever," she rolled her eyes. Everyone was jostling around getting seated. Noise filled the room; there were greetings being exchanged, and conversations beginning.

I looked across the table to find, much to my dismay, Sirius and his 'crew' sitting just a few seats down from us. He sat, with his usual flock of female admirers, and his fellow 'marauders'. Just like on the train, he appeared as though nothing were amiss. Maybe nothing was. Maybe I was imagining things. I wondered briefly what I had done to be experiencing such bad luck. It must have been something big, because this had certainly not been the most wonderful trip back to Hogwarts that I had ever had. Maybe I was being punished for some unknown reason. Maybe it was my destiny to feel wretched as I entered my sixth year. Maybe—

"Kat," a hand waved in front of my face.

"Huh?" I snapped out of my daze to find an amused and somewhat concerned Aryn staring at me.

"What's the matter with you today," she said in an undertone, "You've been acting strange."

"Nothing. Nothing's the matter." The rest of the school had gotten settled into the Great Hall. A whole group of people were seated around Aryn and me, some new acquaintances, others old comrades. Lily and a few of her friends sat directly across from us. Lost in my thoughts, I had not seen any of them come in.

Aryn stared at me disbelievingly. She raised one eyebrow, and for a moment I thought she was going to argue, to proclaim me a liar and demand to know what was going on. She had a bad habit of doing just that. But for some reason – maybe she saw a hint of pleading in my eyes? – She held her tongue and instead, struck up a conversation with the girl on the other side of her.

The Hall grew steadily quiet, as Professor McGonagall led the new first years in to be sorted. They looked nervous and pale, as always, as they came in all bunched together to stand before the Sorting Hat. Having seen this process many times already, I didn't see the need to watch intently again. I let my mind wander once more, staring off into space.

I was interrupted once more from my thoughts by the appearance of food on my plate. Apparently, I had missed the sorting and Dumbledore's First of Term Speech as well. Everyone was happily digging in. Deciding that I would resolve nothing by sitting here doing nothing but staring at a plate full of food, I began to eat as well. Aryn was the one doing most of the talking. She was telling everyone around her about the gorgeous guy she had met that had escorted her to Hogwarts, not wanting to leave her side. I snorted into my napkin.

After everyone had eaten their fill, the food vanished, and everyone started heading up to their dormitories. I got up to leave, my legs moving mechanically, heading towards the stairway that would take me up to the Gryffindor Common Room. I was halfway towards the stairway when a rough hand grabbed me and pulled me out of the crowd, slamming me up against a wall.

"So then, Kat," Aryn's smug face was inches from my own, "What's going on? And don't say 'nothing' again ok? I know you better than that," she gave a cheeky sort of smile.

"Aryn!" I exclaimed, "Look, you don't have to slam me up against a wall to get your point across!"

"Could have fooled me. Something's bothering you, and we are not leaving here until you tell me what it is."

I glared at her. She glared right back. Normally, I would have told Aryn anything she wanted to know. I tried not to keep secrets, and I considered her one of my good friends. However, I just felt like I couldn't tell her about me and Sirius. Or anything about Sirius, period. It just felt wrong. I wanted to tell her, because if I did it would certainly be a burden off my shoulders. Yet at the same time, I wanted to try and muddle through this on my own. I looked Aryn straight in the eyes and was about to demand that she release me from this wall and let me go upstairs or risk being hexed, when I caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of my eye.

"Um…Kat…could I have a word?" Sirius stood there, leaning on the doorframe, waiting casually for us to finish, almost as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Ugh, Black, what are you doing here?" She shot a disgusted look in Sirius' direction.

"I believe, Hillcrest, that I said I wanted a word with Kat. Or did you not hear me?" He replied coolly, his black hair falling into his eyes.

Aryn had a retort on the tip of her tongue, but she glanced at me, and whatever that retort might have been died on her lips. She merely raised an eyebrow at me once more, and then shrugged. "All right then," she said, turning and sauntering up the stairs that led to the dormitories.

I stood there for a second, staring after her, dumbfounded. Was I that transparent? How was it that some people could just see right through you like it was second nature to them? I decided to leave this question for later, as the other person who could read me like a book was standing just a few feet away from me now.

"What is it now," I said, a bit more harshly that I intended.

"I just wanted to tell you. About the other night. Look, I didn't mean to upset you or anything," he shifted uncomfortably, yet still maintained a certain 'cool' aura about him, "I just needed to get away from home for awhile. You know how my family is. And so…yeah…I'm fine now, okay? So don't worry." He smiled confidently.

I wanted to yell at him. I wanted so badly to tell him that he didn't need to put up this fake act with me of all people. We used to be so close. What had happened here that had made it so that we couldn't even sit down and talk as friends anymore? The stupidity of it all was about to drive me insane. I had no idea how Sirius was dealing with all of this, when I was about to explode inside.

But, being the wonderful, shy, introspective person that I am, I muttered a soft "Alright," and left it at that. Sirius' smile broadened, and his blue eyes lit up once more. We set off for the Common Room together.

On the way, he made conversation easy, asking questions about my family, about what I thought classes were going to be like. None of it was what I really wanted to hear though. What we spoke about could have been the conversation between two people that had never met before. It was completely general. Any subject regarding Sirius himself never came up.

We reached the portrait of the Fat Lady in what seemed like no time at all. I realized then that I had never taken the opportunity to get the new password. Cursing myself inwardly, I glanced at Sirius, who had already started forward. He gave the password (Poppycock), and the portrait swung open.

"So, I'll see ya around then?" he said.

"Yeah," I replied, still numb from the whole ordeal. I walked inside and headed straight past all the people gathered in the common room, chatting. I heard Aryn call out to me, but I ignored her, walking straight up to my dormitory. I felt Sirius' eyes on me the whole time.

I flopped down on my bed, glad to be away from all the people. It had not been the most pleasant day, but it hadn't been all that bad. I was still very angry with this distance between Sirius and me that seemed to be getting more and more pronounced as time moved on. But any way I looked at it, there was nothing I could do.

I pulled the hangings shut on my bed, hoping that no one would disturb me, so that I could think. Think about the classes I would have tomorrow (and the horrendous workload that would come with that). Think about Quidditch season, Hogsmeade visits, and Christmas presents. But most of all think about this whole mess that just wouldn't seem to go away.

I heard footsteps come into the room. I pretended to be asleep, relaxing my breathing so that it was deep and even. The footsteps hesitated for a moment, as if deciding on what to do, then turned back and exited the room once more. I sighed, and rolled over onto my side. Sirius' words were still ringing in my head.

"I didn't mean to upset you….I'm fine now, ok? So don't worry,"

How I wanted to believe those words. But I had known Sirius longer than anyone here and there was this nagging feeling that something just wasn't right. But there was nothing I could do about it if he wouldn't let his guard down long enough to talk about it. I sighed, another discontented sigh and closed my eyes, letting sleep come to me. Maybe in the morning, things would be clearer.

It was the best I could hope for.

**AN: TA DA! Chapter number 3! Was it gude? Was it bad? Tell me tell me!**


	4. New Classes and New Trials

**Eyes of Infinity**

**Authors Note:** Wow! I have a total of 10 reviews so far! Look at that! It's amazing! So, in honor of the 10th review, I figured I had better update lol. Please indulge the crazy person and keep the reviews coming! I'm so glad u likez my storie!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it, stop putting words in my mouth.

From Kat's POV (if u haven't figured it out already)

**:Chapter Four: New Classes, New Trials:**

"Kaaaat. Come on, Kat wake up!"

The voice rang in my ears and sent the message to my sleep deluded brain. I groaned, trying to throw myself back into the comforting oblivion known as sleep, but the voice persisted.

"Kat! Sheesh! Come on, it's the first day of class. I know you can't be _that _sleepy!"

I cursed silently, wishing that for just once, class would start at a later time in the day. I rolled over to find Aryn seated on the side of my bed, staring at me expectantly.

"Well, it's about _time_ you got up. Honestly!" she said huffily, though there was a slight grin on her face.

I threw my pillow at her. "You know, I was having such a nice sleep. It's because of people like you that people like me get so cranky in the mornings!"

"Yeah, well next time I will just let you keep on snoozing. Then when you get detention from McGonagall, I don't want to hear any complaints." She shot back at me.

I glared at her once more, then staggered out of bed and pulled on my Hogwarts robes. Everyone else had either gone down to the Common Room, or headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Dressing quickly, I got up and followed Aryn out of the room. I was loath to leave my nice warm bed. I had been sleeping so soundly too. And having some sort of dream, a very good one at that. At least when I was asleep, I could lose myself in my dreams. Now that I was awake once again, I had to deal with reality, which wasn't very appealing to me at the moment.

We didn't stay long in the Common Room, since most everyone had already left for breakfast. We went to the Great Hall, and sat down at a table. Aryn immediately starting chatting with numerous random people, while I simply sat there and tried to shake the remaining grogginess from my eyes.

Excitement was everywhere, and was quickly spreading to include everyone in the hall. First years were bustling about eagerly, waiting for a true taste of Hogwarts life. Other students sat, waiting for new class lists, which were being passed about to each student by the prefects. Numerous owls flew overhead, delivering various letters, newspapers, and packages to the proper recipients.

I took a sip of my orange juice and tried to jump into the conversation that was currently being held at my table. Lily Evans, Olive Brown and June Sylva were sitting with us, currently talking about the new classes.

"I hope that Astronomy is easy!" said Olive.

"Astronomy? Why are you taking that?" snorted June, "why not take Ancient Runes? It's far more interesting that the stars, and easier too!"

"Ancient runes!" Olive laughed, "Then I'd have to carry around a huge rune dictionary just to decipher them all, and frankly, I don't have that much time on my hands. Interesting, she says." She rolled her eyes.

"Bah! At least I don't have to sit out at night with a telescope mapping the sky like it's the end of the world!" June shot back.

"I think they're both ridiculously easy," Lily stated, tossing her flaming red hair over her shoulder, "And they will both be interesting, that's for sure. Look at it this way: either of those classes is better than History of Magic." There was an all-around sigh.

"I second that," Aryn cut in. It was at that time that a prefect reached our table and handed us our schedules. I grimaced. It was the usual lot, only twice as bad – Double Potions, Double Transfiguration, Double Charms – Double the homework load basically. Then there were normal classes like Muggle Studies, which I took merely for kicks, and History of Magic, which was required for everyone. The only reason no one objected is because there was no reason to argue with a perfectly good sleep period. Last but not least was Double Divination. What a wonderful way to end the day, I thought grimly.

"Hey, Arithmancy? I didn't ask for this crap!" Aryn exclaimed, staring in shock at her schedule, "Professor McGonagall!" she yelled, waving her arms wildly at the Gryffindor Head of House to get her attention. It was highly unnecessary as she was walking right past them at the moment.

"Miss Hillcrest, could you please stop with the dramatics? What is the meaning of this?" Professor McGonagall replied sternly.

"Professor! My schedule! It's all messed up! Look!" she said pointing wildly at the paper in her hand, "Arithmancy! Who signs up for Arithmancy! I most certainly didn't! There has to be some sort of mistake!"

"There is no mistake, Miss Hillcrest. The class that you signed up for – Astrology, wasn't it? – was full. So therefore, we had to substitute a class for you to take. Hence, Arithmancy.

"But…Why Arithmancy? Couldn't you change it to something like Ancient Runes? Or even Herbology would be better than this!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Hillcrest, but rules are rules. If a student cannot be placed in a class that he or she signed up for, then a substitution must be made. You did not specify which alternative class to be considered for, so it was chosen for you. The decision stands," said McGonagall with a finality that could have been a blow to the face to Aryn.

"She's loony, that one!" Aryn huffed after McGonagall had left, "How on earth am I going to pass Arithmancy!"

"Nah, you'll be fine," Lily reassured her. She picked up her book bag and rose to leave, "You have it with the Hufflepuffs, it can't be that hard."

Aryn sighed morosely. I patted her on the back semi-sympathetically, though I couldn't fight back a slight smile.

"Hey, Evans! It seems we are fated to have classes together once again!" Lily cringed at the voice. She turned and left at a very fast pace, hoping to be out of the hall before James spotted her. It didn't work however, and the last we saw of Lily was her making a run for the entryway with James running after her spouting various pickup lines.

I chuckled wryly to myself. Why didn't she just go out with the guy and get it over with? I mean, it wasn't like he was all that bad. He was good looking, and smart…he was just so…egotistical. I supposed that was what Lily felt as well. School could really be overdramatic sometimes. Almost like a soap opera…

I looked up from my musings to find Sirius and Remus trudging along after James. Both of them were shaking their heads. I wondered why it even surprised them that James acted this way. I mean, I even knew to expect stuff like this. Sirius spotted me staring after them and gave me a wink. Then he turned and followed Remus out of the hall.

I stared after them for a few seconds more. It was really pathetic how one gesture from him was enough to set me off again. I knew that I shouldn't be troubling myself about Sirius when I had classes to concern myself with, but there was still some small part of me that was unnaturally concerned for him for some reason.

Aryn tapped me on the shoulder, letting me know that it was time for class. Most of the other students had left already, and the stragglers were filing out a few at a time. I sighed and got to my feet. I followed Aryn down to the dungeons for Potions, listening to her rant about how she was going to fail Arithmancy the whole way there.

It was a relatively normal first day back. Classes were average. Basically all the professors did was lecture on rules that we already knew existed, and make sure we had the proper textbooks with us, and hand in our summer homework. Plus, I didn't really have any 'new' classes this year anyway. The one class that I was having qualms about was the last class. Double Divination.

I too had signed up for Astrology. But unlike Aryn, I didn't make a big scene about not getting it. However, I was uneasy about taking another year of Divination. I had barely passed the first one. I had yet to see anything in a crystal ball. And I had never seen the future per se. The only reason that I had passed was due to the fact that I made up some nice believable future events on every homework assignment that was given. And even if it wasn't believable…it was the future. Who really cared if it was true or not?

So the other classes were a drag. I had most of them with Aryn, which was good. She always served to make things more…amusing. And it helped to take my mind off of other things that I was focusing on.

We had just gotten out of History of Magic. Everyone emerged from the classroom sleepily, wiping their eyes as if they had just had a good long nap. Most of them had done just that. Lily was currently fuming about how she had 2 classes with the 'arrogant prat' today, and how she thought that she was going to die. Personally, I was happy with my schedule. I only had one class with the Slytherins (Double Potions), so I was happy as can be. The three of us were headed upstairs. I was to go to Double Divination, Lily to Ancient Runes, and Aryn to Arithmancy. Aryn still gave the occasional huffy sigh to show that she was still unhappy about the whole thing.

We parted ways at the top of the stairs. I waved goodbye to the both of them, and set off on my own to the Divination classroom. I hoped that it would be easy this time. Or at least, easier. Maybe we would have a different teacher. Someone who could actually teach. Then again, Divination was a very unteachable subject, and one either had the talent or didn't. I obviously didn't. I figured the best I could hope for was that I could fake my way through the class again.

I climbed the ladder into the classroom. I breathed a sigh of relief that I didn't have this class with the Slytherins either. I didn't need things to be any more difficult than they already were. I went towards the back of the room to get a seat, hoping that if I sat there, the teacher would forget my existence. I stopped short upon seeing who already sat there.

'God must be having such fun at my expense,' I thought. Sirius Black was seated quite comfortably at the table in the back. He looked as though he didn't have a care in the world. Obviously, I had to find another place to sit, as the rest of the table was filled with members of his female fan club. They were all vying for his attention – batting their eyelashes, smiling prettily, running trembling fingers through their hair.

I was more than happy to oblige. With a final look of disgust in the general direction of the table, I sat instead at one of the tables off to the side. As to why I continued to worry myself with Sirius, when he seemed to be having such a wonderful time, I had no earthly idea. I tried my hardest to purge my memory of anything regarding him.

The lesson started shortly afterwards. Professor Trelawney came into the room, looking all around as if she was the all knowing all seeing witch. I snorted derisively. I knew that she could no more see the future than I could. She had a daughter as well, Sybill Trelawney that was just as dimwitted. But both of them thought that they had the sharpest 'inner eye' known to man. I doubted that either of them had ever had a real vision.

I let myself drown in my thoughts for most of the lesson. Time passed quicker for me that way. The only real thoughts that came into my head were about how the room was too perfumy and was giving me a headache and how my stomach was rumbling loud enough for everyone to hear. I looked at my watch, hoping that the lesson was almost over. It was then that my ears picked up a valuable statement.

"Now class," Trelawney stated dreamily, "I have decided that this year shall be different. Since this is Double Divination, and you already possess such great skills at seeing into the beyond," (several people gave snorts of laughter at this), "I have decided to have you all do a project of sorts that shall take up a good portion of the year."

I cringed. A project. In Divination. It was not a very welcome prospect. I would rather have written ten essays for History of Magic, made up my own charm for Charms, and transfigured myself into whatever Professor McGonagall desired than do any sort of project Trelawney had in store.

"Now, my dears," Trelawney continued, ignoring the groans of protest that followed her initial announcement, "I shall divide you into pairs. Both you and your partner shall work together to complete the project. If I find out that one person did not put forth effort, both of you shall fail. Am I understood?" There were nods of grudging assent around the room, "very well then. Let's see then…I think Miss Brown, you shall be working with Mr. Garret, Mr. Jerry will partner with Mr. Roth…." She continued to pair off the whole class.

My stomach clenched. There was no way that I was going to be able to pull this off. I could barely do any of the assignments that she had previously set, let alone do some project that was going to take a great deal of the year! I rested my head in my hands. This was going to be the death of me.

"Is there anyone who does not have a partner?" Trelawney's voice rang out. I had no idea if I did or not because I had been worrying as opposed to listening, so I raised my hand. "Ah, Miss Brooks. Yes, you shall be partnered with Mr. Black."

The words struck me like a blow to the heart. Maybe this year wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. I glanced up at Sirius, and suppressed a shudder. He gave me an encouraging wink and then continued a whispered conversation with one of his numerous girls.

No…this wasn't going to be easy at all…

**AN: Soooooooooo this is chapter 4! I hope everyone likes it! Review! Right now! push the little button thingie! Once again thankz for the reviews, they are greatly appreciated!**


	5. The Project

**Eyes of Infinity**

**AN:** Ok…I am going to make yet another plea for reviews. **PLEASE REVIEW THIS STORY!** Even if u hate it, the reviews are put to gude use! So review! It shant take more than a few minutes out of ur busy schedule, and then u can go back to whatever it is u were doing! Please? PLEASE:hyperventilates: anywho…here is chapter 5

**Thanx to all the reviewers who have reviewed thus far! U guys rock!**

**Disclaimer:** I only own the characters of my creating! I do not own anything owned by JK Rowling. I do not own HP. I wish I did. Then I'd be rich. And I have probably said that about 5 different times now. Maybe one day I shall think of something original and witty to put here! Muahahahaha!

From Kat's POV

**:Chapter 5: The Project:**

Sometimes Hogwarts seemed like an insane asylum. The only things missing were the padded walls and the straightjackets. It's funny sometimes how something completely normal turns out so completely…not.

I sat in Divination waiting for the dreaded class to end. This was definitely turning out to be a not so good first day back. Well, it wasn't completely horrible to be truthful. The only thing horrid about it was this last class. Guess it was wrong of me to expect a perfect day back. That would be too much to ask.

Trelawney was going into detail about the project. It sounded more like a death sentence to me. There was no way that I was going to be able to pull this off.

"Yes, my dears. This project shall be a cumulative grade that shall take up most of your time this year." Trelawney said. Sometimes I wondered if she hadn't been inhaling that god awful perfume that always hung in the air right before class. Divination was normally one of the easier classes. You just sat there, pretended to 'see the future' and act all-knowing, and you pretty much had it down. But this project was already beginning to put a damper on my spirits.

"You shall see like you have never seen before! It will be an eye opening experience for all of you, I am sure," Trelawney rambled on, "What I want for each of you to do is predict the future of your partner." At this, I couldn't stifle a laugh. This crackpot wanted _me _to predict the future of Sirius Black? Yeah, sure, no problem. I looked around to find others with smirks of amusement on their faces as well. Good, so no one was taking this seriously then. I felt much better.

"This project will require you to delve into the depths of your partner's soul. You will have to familiarize yourself with their past history, in order to gain a clearer glimpse of what the future holds for them. As I said before, it will be time consuming." Suddenly I didn't feel so good anymore. Great, so now I have to 'familiarize myself' with Sirius. This was a disaster waiting to happen. I couldn't even get him to talk to me for five minutes the night before, and now I was supposed to sit down and have a nice comfy chat? Yes that would be nice, I could see it now. 'Hey Sirius, I know you didn't want to talk to me the other night, even though we are, or at least used to be, close friends, but since it's for a grade now, I think you'd better tell me everything. Start from the beginning ok?' Even in my head it sounded ridiculous!

I looked round once more to find that I was not alone in my musings. Other people had scandalized looks on their faces as well, and a few were even voicing complaints. But Trelawney dismissed them all, waving her hand around airily.

"I know you all have your misgivings, my dears, but you shall thank me one day! You will be amazed at how much you can learn about another person, and the fate that awaits them, by doing things such as this!" she intoned. There were many other protests, but she just continued on merrily, "So, then, you may use whatever books you feel are necessary, although I shall restate that books are of little help to you here. You may use any method you chose, from crystal balls, tarot cards, palmistry, even the tea leaves may play a part in foretelling the future."

"So basically, you're giving us this project, but we have to figure out how to do it on our own?" Olive Brown questioned.

"Seeing cannot be taught. You must find whatever method works best for you if you are to succeed. The due date for this project will be some time in the beginning of May. We should have this done by April, but a nasty bout of the flu will render many of us ill for quite some time." Trelawney sighed sadly. I rolled my eyes. Sometimes she was so overly dramatic that it was stupidly funny.

She dismissed us after that, saying that we should get started on the project right away. Most of the class just shrugged it off and walked out. There were a select few who apparently took divination seriously, who stayed behind trying to acquaint themselves better with their partners. I rose from my seat and headed toward the door.

"Kat!" I cringed and turned around.

"What Sirius?" I said, nonchalantly. He came down from the back of the room, surrounded by his normal armor guard of girls. It really disgusted me sometimes how girls could just throw themselves at his feet. Pitiful, really.

"So. When do we get started on this project…thing…?" he said, not sounding at all pleased with the idea.

"Whenever you like." I replied. I hoped that he would procrastinate as long as possible. I didn't want anything to do with this project.

"Alright then. We'll figure out the where and how later then, kay?"

"Sure," I said. He smiled that playboy smile of his, and headed down the ladder, followed closely by his flock of females. I shook my head. I headed down the ladder as well and set out for the Great Hall for dinner.

Aryn was very talkative the whole time. She kept talking about the ever present Arithmancy and how she was going to fail. Lily kept telling her to give it a rest. Aryn then switched to talk about the famous, or shall I say infamous, Quidditch star, James Potter, and Lily was suddenly more than happy to listen to her rants on Arithmancy.

We ate and then headed up to the Common Room. I was exhausted. I hadn't really gotten any homework from any of my teachers, other than the ominous Divination project. I was grateful for that because I didn't think I could take any more homework after what had happened today. I felt really tired, so I went up to my room after a few minutes to get away from all the noise of the Common Room. Aryn followed right behind me.

"Hey Kat," Aryn said, "Whassa matter with you tonight? You've been out of it ever since dinner. Something happen?"

"Just Divination," I replied.

"Oh, Divination is always fun to hear about! Let's hear it then, who's gonna die this year?" Aryn asked, perching on the edge of my bead eagerly.

"Me, probably," I said dully.

"What? Why you? That lady's inner eye is off if you asked me!"

"Because," I stated, as though I was writing my name on my tombstone, "Sirius is in there with me."

"What!" this remark came from Lily who had just entered the room, "Sirius Black, taking Double Divination!" she snorted, "I still don't know how he passed the first one!"

"I don't know how he passes anything, tell ya the truth," Aryn added, "But that's beside the point. So you're death sentence is Sirius Black huh?"

"No," I snapped back irritably. "The stupid project that Trelawney set is going to be the death of me!"

"Project!" Lily and Aryn chorused together. I explained to them the whole project scenario, and how I had the misfortune to wind up being paired with Sirius.

"But Kat," Aryn argued, "Isn't this a good thing? I mean, you used to be really close with Sirius. So you know a lot about him already! That'll make the project a whole lot easier!"

"I don't know him anymore," I muttered softly.

"What?" Aryn asked.

"Nothing." I said hurriedly, "I forgot my bag in the Common Room, I'm gonna go grab it." I left the room before they could question me further. I should really stop speaking my thoughts aloud. It always happens when there are other people around, and that makes it very incriminating.

I grabbed my bag from a table near the fireplace and went to head back upstairs. I don't know why this whole situation bothered me so much. True, Sirius and I used to be the best of friends, but we drifted apart. I still had no idea _why_ we drifted apart, but did it really matter? The question was: why did it affect me so? I had friends, family, people who cared for me. Why was the loss of one friend so traumatizing to me, so detrimental that it caused me to think of nothing but him?

I shook my head, laughed at my foolishness. Maybe it was because Sirius didn't have those things. Well, he had friends, but as to the family part, he had one of the worst ones in the history of families. Maybe it just hurt me so deeply inside to see him deal with all this by himself with no one to turn to. He used to turn to me…

My train of thought was interrupted as I collided with something. A warm, tall something. "Sorry," I mumbled hastily, pulling away from whomever it was I had run smack into.

"It's ok. You should really be more careful next time, Kitty-Kat." I looked up to see none other than Sirius. Sheesh, how many times could I run into him (this time, literally) in one day? I paused. 'Kitty-Kat'?

"I thought I told you never to call me that here!" I exclaimed, fuming. Of all the places, of all the times to remember old nicknames like this!

"Well, at least it got your attention. Maybe next time you'll watch where you're walking then?" He gave me one of those coy smiles. I wanted to slap him. I substituted for a sneer though, and tried to push my way by him to get up to my dormitory. He moved to block my way.

"What the heck! What are you doing? _Some_ of us need to sleep you know?" I shot at him.

"Yeah? Well you can have my beauty sleep as well then. I have no need of it," Sirius said, running a hand through his long black hair, as if to put emphasis on the previous statement.

"Oh get over yourself," I replied, though I couldn't hold back a smile.

"Maybe one of these days," he said, "So anyway, I meant to ask you about that Divination thing." He grimaced at the memory of it.

"Yeah? What about it?" I said suspiciously.

"We should get started on it." Was his simple answer.

Oh great. What ever happened to procrastination. "Why?" I responded.

"Because it's going to take us all year! Look, I know you don't want to do this at all. I'm not having a picnic myself either. But I figure we should attempt to do it, that way we'll at least get an idea of how hard it's going to be, y'know?"

Sometimes, Sirius managed to say something that I couldn't argue with. "This is true." I mused. "Alright fine, we'll start it. Where and when?"

He paused and reflected for a moment. "Anywhere but the Divination classroom. That perfumy stuff makes me sleepy."

"Room of Requirement then?"

"Yeah ok."

"Ok." I replied. Sirius gave me a sly smile.

"Well then, my young kitten, you should be getting to your much needed sleep. G'night!" And with that, he ran (which rather surprised me, as it took away from his normally dignified and suave demeanor) up to his dormitory before I could react enough to slap him. That was ok though. I'd find some way to get him back for that one.

Shaking my head and mumbling about Hogwarts, School of Looneys and Psychopaths, I went up to my dormitory and lay down for a much needed sleep. It had been a very eventful day.

**AN: Sooo there was chapter five! Did u likez! Review and tell me if u did or not! And for future reference, the next chapter will be from :drumroll: Sirius' POV! Wow, weren't expecting that now were we? Well, see ya in the next chapter!**


	6. Midnight Chat

**AN:** so here we are in chapter 6! Wow I'm surprised I got this far lol. So as I promised, this next chapter is a bit of a change. It's from our lovely Sirius' POV.

**As a bit of a motivation factor for all of u pplz that are reading this and not reviewing, I have decided not to update after this chapter until I get at least 25 reviews. So there! It's at 15 right now, so 10 more shouldn't be much of a problem right? RIGHT! So keep the reviews comin if ya like this storie!**

**Disclaimer:** the usual statement…I don't own it.

From **SIRIUS'** POV (miracles happen every day ne?)

**:Chapter 6: Midnight Chat:**

I entered my dormitory silently, still contemplating what had happened a few seconds before. Actually, it was more like I was contemplating what had _been_ happening since that night…the night before the train ride back to Hogwarts.

Everything seemed like such a mess. Kat was more distant than she had ever been before. It felt strange, foreign almost to me. Although, it hadn't happened overnight; it had been more of a growing thing that had been getting stronger with each passing year. But I hadn't expected it to go this far.

At first, I thought it was the natural thing to happen. Kat was getting more friends and so was I. We were both surrounded by crowds of people every day, so I figured that this was what was supposed to happen. But I never thought I would completely lose her. Never. Kat and I had always shared this bond that had never been broken all these years, even when we were little. It seemed almost against the law to think that now we were so far apart from each other. Not physically, of course, I argued, trying to be philosophical. It just felt like everything was all wrong.

Part of me reasoned that this whole thing was just me overreacting and that I should concern myself more with what was going on _now,_ and not something that has already passed. There was this other voice in my head though, (yes I had lowered myself to listening to voices), that stated that I was being done a serious injustice here! Kat was, or at least had been, my best friend since before I could remember. She was always there, the one constant shoulder to lean on, the one ray of sunshine I had. She knew me better than anyone…and understood me. Or at least I thought so. So why the separation of ways then?

Whatever the reason, it had been bugging the crap out of me all summer, and finally got to the point of me dragging myself over to her house that night to confront her. Which resulted in me making an even bigger mess of things, as the words got all jumbled and made absolutely no sense whatsoever! That night, I lost my nerve, and only served to embarrass myself and confuse Kat. I realized then that something would have to be done sooner or later (though I hoped that it would be later, due to my extreme loss of ego that night). Even as I realize now that all I'm doing is making a deeper hole than when I started, I still can't bring myself to talk to her.

I laughed softly to myself. I, the great Sirius Black, was afraid of having a conversation with my best friend. Of all the things to be scared of! What was I afraid that she would say? I realized that it was foolish. I realized that I wasn't helping the situation. I realized that had been standing in the dark for about five minutes now arguing with the voices in my head.

Shaking my head, and wondering if living with my crackpot relatives was finally driving me over the edge, I walked over and lay on my bed, though I knew sleep would not come for me this night.

"Whassa matter with you, Padfoot?" I started at the voice. Sheesh, and here I thought everyone was asleep!

"Nothing, Prongsie, don't you fret," I replied jauntily, smirking in the darkness. I heard the rustling of covers.

"Don't give me that crap, Sirius, something's wrong. Something's _been_ wrong. You just refuse to talk about it, even with us, your fellow trustworthy marauders!" I groaned inwardly as James made his way out of his bed and came to sit down on mine.

"I'm fine ok! What could possibly be wrong with me? I'm back at Hogwarts, land of pranks, Quidditch, and girls! Everything's fine!"

"Sure it is," James retorted, "Except for the fact that you forgot to leave out one part."

"Which part?" I replied innocently, hoping inwardly he'd get ticked off and drop the subject.

"The part about you and Kat." James replied smoothly.

Crap. So maybe I wasn't doing such a great job of masking what I was thinking. I kicked myself inwardly. "There's nothing going on between me and Kat," I responded, hoping to salvage this mess and turn the conversation to a less messy (and less emotional) track.

"I know! But I know that she's bothering you in some way!" James exclaimed, then lowered his voice to avoid waking Remus and Peter who were still snoring on their side of the room. I stared at him for a few seconds.

"You're nutters, you know that?" I stated.

"I am not!" James hissed back, "Come on, then, what's wrong! You and Kat used to be close! She used to hang around with us and everything! Now you're both acting like you don't even know each other, and refusing to even acknowledge each others existence on some occasions!"

Sometimes James was pretty smart. Sometimes he was a little too smart for his own good. "She is still my friend." I stated. I trailed off after that though. I couldn't think of anything else to say in my defense. Yes, she was my friend…we just weren't very friendly toward each other at the moment.

"Uh huh." James stated, clearly unconvinced. "So, once you're done playing 'let's hide what's bothering me' will you tell me what's wrong?"

I shot him a glare and opened my mouth to protest. To tell him I wasn't lying, that everything was fine, and that he wasn't being a very good friend himself for not believing me. Then I sighed. Who was I kidding?

"I don't know what's wrong, honestly." I started. This much was true. I had no idea how things got the way they were.

"What an enlightening comment," James said sarcastically.

"Shut up!" I shot back, punching him on the arm.

"Ow! So this is the thanks I get for being a good and noble friend and trying to help?" he asked, rubbing his sore arm.

"Yep, now quit whining!" I said, a triumphant grin on my face. He gave a playful sneer and then stared at me expectantly.

"So?"

"Buttons."

"What?" said James perplexed.

"Buttons," I said, giving him a know-it-all look, "You sew buttons! Anyone knows that."

"Sirius," James said slowly, "if you don't stop dragging this out, and tell me what's been bothering you, things are going to get ugly."

"You're already ugly."

"SIRIUS!"

"Oh, fine!" I pouted. "It's just…I miss Kat…I guess. We haven't been as close as we used to be, and now it's all one big mess, and I don't know what to do about it."

"Use some cheesy romantic lines like you use on all the other girls to smooth things over?" said James enthusiastically. I glared. "Or not," he added as an afterthought.

"And now I have to do this Divination project with her, and it's not helping matters any," I continued.

"Have you tried talking to her about this?"

"Yeah…once." I replied, grimacing at the thought of my failed attempt. James raised an eyebrow incredulously.

"You haven't even talked to her about it! Well then why not do that! Sheesh, Sirius, and I thought this was something…well…serious!"

"It is serious!" I snapped at him, "I don't know how to go about talking to her!"

"What! You mean to tell me that you can petition any number of girls for dates and god knows what else, but you can't go up to your best friend and say 'hey can we sit and talk for awhile'?" James said, in shock.

"You make it sound like I'm a tease."

"Aren't you?"

"I don't know. I will have to think about that one later." I shrugged, brushing the matter off for another day.

"So what are you gonna do? Talk to her maybe?" James asked.

"I don't know. I guess I'll have to. It just seems weird, you know? I feel like there's a wall where there shouldn't be one."

"Well that's not good!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." I responded dryly.

"I'm being serious!" said James.

"Well, you shouldn't do that. Being Sirius is my job." I countered coolly.

"Git."

"Prat."

"Looney."

"I have an idea." Both of us startled at the voice that interrupted our 'conversation'. Guess we weren't being quiet enough, I thought wistfully, hiding a smile.

"Yes, Moony?" I asked sweetly.

"Any idea from you is welcome!" James piped up.

Remus turned over in his bed to face us, "Why don't both of you go to _sleep_? You know, sleep, rest, slumber? It's what you're supposed to be doing at this time of night anyway. It's quite enjoyable." There was a bit of a drawl in his voice as he spoke. Clearly he wasn't happy about being woken up in the middle of the night.

"Ok, fine, we'll sleep," I said.

"But just this once," James added.

"And only because you are our most special friend!"

"And we don't want you to hurt us."

There came a sigh from the general direction of Remus' bed. "Oh, whatever. I'm tired. Go to sleep." He said. We snickered under our breaths for a few seconds. Irritating Moony was so much fun.

"So yeah." James said softly so as not to disturb Remus, "Try talking with Kat tomorrow. It's a shame you two are falling out. I really liked her."

"eh?"

"She's nice," James stated, "Easy to get along with, not pushy and rude like my dearest Lilykins!" he seemed to go into a trance after that. Go figure. Everything always came back to Lily somehow.

"So are you saying you prefer Kat to Lily?" I suggested slyly.

"What? No!" James snapped back to reality, "I'm just saying Kat's a nice person. Don't you worry Paddie, one of these days I shall break down that barrier that my precious Lily has around her and get her to love and worship me!"

And so we were back to Lily again. "I'm going to bed." I said, exhausted. James nodded and went back to his own bed. I lay down and shut my eyes. Peter was still snoring loudly on the other end of the room. Jeez, that guy could sleep through anything. I guess it's a good thing though, since midnight chats like these tend to get kind of noisy.

Although I was glad that I got to talk to James about this, I still wasn't feeling any better than I had to start with. I guess the only thing I could do now was wait for an opportune time to talk to Kat. Maybe she was feeling this strange distance too?

But what if she wasn't? What if it was only me? Would she laugh? Or maybe she felt the distance, but didn't care. Maybe she truly wanted nothing to do with me anymore…

My head was spinning. Probably from overtiredness. Or from that potion that I drank as a dare…hmm maybe next time I should ask what's in it before taking the dare? I clinched my eyes shut, and tried to focus more on sleep and less on spinning.

A divination project. This was going to be great. Wish someone would divine what Kat's response is going to be to all of this…

**AN: Yeay! Another chapter completed! So my threat still stands…review or no updates! I rather liked messing around with Sirius' POV, it was fun. So tell me what u thought! Thankz for all the people who have already reviewed, u guys rock!**


	7. The Meeting

**Eyes of Infinity**

**AN:** yeah it's me again. So I didn't get the 10 reviews that I wanted :snifflez: but I shant give up! At least I have 20 reviews….which is more than I have for any of my other stories, so it's all gude.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

**A shout out to those of you who reviewed the previous chapter:**

**Ukrc (aka 'soredemo'…read her storie it is gude!):** dude u are my favorite reviewer, u have reviewed every chapter:applaudz madly: and do not fear, u shant wonder anymore! For I have updated, and now u can read and die in agony of the suspense all over again!

**Silent Storm 2000:** Must…resist…puppy dog eyes….GAAAHHHH what are u doing to me! Making me feel guilt like this. So I felt compelled to update because of u lol. And I'm really glad u like this storie:feelz speshul:

**silver angel 03:** awww don't cry, I have updated:sings: don't worry, be happy. Ok I have had too much caffeine, and not enuff sleep.

**A-passive-interlude:** I'm glad u like the whole Sirius POV thing, I couldn't stand doing the whole thing from Kat's POV cuz the reader would just miss out on sooo much. Never fear! There shall be more James and Lily on the way!

**Cerulean Asphodel:** Thanx so much for the review! I'm glad u likez! I tried so hard to keep Sirius IC as much as possible, I'm glad it paid off.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Anywho…on with the show!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own it. Need I say more?

From Sirius' POV

**:Chapter 7: The Meeting:**

Something soft, yet very solid struck me in the face, jolting my groggy brain out of the deep sleep it had finally fallen into.

"Come on, Paddie! Get up!"

I groaned. It was too early in the morning for this. I rolled over on my stomach and buried my face in my pillow, hoping to drown out any more attempts at waking me.

"Sirius! Get up! Now!" The voice commanded, exasperated. Then, "If you don't get up, I'm going to go to McGonagall and tell her who enchanted the stove in the teacher's lounge to spit fireworks at random intervals!"

I swore silently into my pillow. Sleepily, I dragged myself to a sitting position on my bed, and was greeted by James' grinning face. "That's called blackmail, you know."

"What are friends for?" he replied indifferently.

I rolled my eyes, then stretched and began to get ready for another day of classes. Strange, it was only the first week back, yet to me, it felt like I had been here an eternity. True it was a great improvement from my home sweet home. But it was different this year. I chuckled dryly to myself. Everything seemed different here of late.

"Oi! Quit dragging your arse, Padfoot! Breakfast is half over!" James said.

"If you'd have woken me up on time, we wouldn't be late, now would we?" I retorted huffily, pulling on my robes at a slightly faster pace.

"I shouldn't have to be responsible for making sure that _you_ get up on time! Next time I'm just going to leave you here, snoring away the day."

"I don't snore," I said defensively, "that's Peter's area of expertise."

"That's not the point." Said James, throwing up his arms in defeat.

I finished dressing, ran a comb through my long, messy hair, pulled on my shoes and then headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast with James. Everyone was already there, chatting amongst themselves. I made a beeline for my normal table and plopped myself down across from Remus.

"A little late, aren't we?" he asked, thick sarcasm in his voice.

"Yes, yes." I said, tossing my hair over my shoulder, "It's quite fashionable to arrive a tad late, didn't you know?" I added casually.

Remus snorted derisively. "Whatever. Try and sell that story to McGonagall. I'd love to see her reaction."

"Maybe I will," I countered. Remus grinned back, knowing I'd probably be stupid enough to do it, then fell silent.

I filled my plate with yummy Hogwarts food, and ate happily. People were starting to wander out of the Great Hall by this time, preparing for class. I noticed Lily Evans walking hurriedly past our table.

"Hey Prongs, there goes –" I realized I was talking to thin air, as James was already hurrying after her.

"Lily dearest!" James called at the top of his lungs. The fiery red head turned around and shot him a glare.

"Listen good, Potter. I-Don't-Like-You." She said, scathingly.

"That's just you being in denial." James stated calmly, as if explaining to a child, "Deep down, you know you want me."

"Ugh. I would rather eat dragon dung." Lily responded. "Now please, leave me alone." She turned on her heel and walked out. James trotted after her.

I shook my head. Maybe one day, Lily would finally put the guy out of his misery and go out with him.

"Hey hot stuff."

I jumped slightly and looked to my right to see Celestra Higgins seated next to me. Great. Just great. Celestra was one of the most 'popular' girls at Hogwarts, and as such, she had a very pompous air about her. She was pretty; there was no denying it. But that about summed it up. There was nothing else I could find to like about her.

"Hey there, pretty lady." I responded, flashing her my trademark playboy smile.

"So, are you free later?" She asked coyly, batting her eyelashes at me, "I'm sure I can think of something amusing for us to do…"

"As tempting as that offer sounds…" whatever cool, witty remark I was about to make was cut off as I saw Kat get up to leave the Great Hall. I rose hastily, knocking over a glass of pumpkin juice and spilling it all over Celestra's robes. I mumbled an apology and scrambled over to where Kat was.

She was waiting for me at the entrance with an amused expression on her face. Apparently she had seen my display of clumsiness on my way over here, which now included not only spilling pumpkin juice all over Celestra Higgins, but slamming into the Slytherin Quidditch Captain, knocking a first year into a garbage can, and tripping over my own two feet.

I reached her rather breathless. Strange, it had never been such an ordeal to cross the Great Hall before…

She laughed and leaned up against the doorframe, waiting. I smoothed my hair so that it didn't look as ruffled and tried to act casual.

"I forgot to ask you something last night,"

"Apparently," Kat replied. She suppressed another giggle.

"What time am I supposed to meet you tonight?" I asked, trying to keep any shred of dignity I had left.

At this, the laughter ceased. And in came the silence once more. Kat looked a little nervous. Like her insides were squirming inside of her. It was probably a good thing, I told myself, since it was how I was feeling at the moment too.

"Tonight," Kat responded, "right…um…how about eight?"

"Eight?" I restated. She nodded. "Eight it is then. So, I guess I'll see you then."

She nodded once more, and then left, leaving me standing by myself in an almost empty Great Hall. I hurried to class, cursing myself for losing it like that in the Hall. Why was she doing this to me! Maybe it was because of the impending dread of the meeting later that night.

For some reason the day seemed to pass more quickly than any I can remember. Unfortunately, it's only when you want classes to drag out that they seem to pass by at lightning speed. I remember snatches of conversations from each class and that's it. Most of the day I was zoned out, lost in worried thoughts that led down confusing paths that twisted and intertwined with one another and more often than not ended up making very little sense.

Dinner came and went like normal. Everyone was laughing and joking and talking. I assume that I made the right comments and responses, because I don't remember being hassled about anything.

The next thing I knew, I was standing outside the Room of Requirement. It was like my feet knew where they were going, even though my brain hadn't fully sorted it out yet.

I entered to find the room had already assembled itself into quite a cozy little nook. Bookshelves lined the walls, stocked full of any reading materials we would need. There was just the right amount of light in the room so as to provide ample reading light, yet not enough so as to be blinding. Comfy chairs were scattered about the room. Tables held crystal balls, and teapots full of tea, ready to be consumed. Then there were things that I didn't know the name for. Well…at least we wouldn't fail this project from lack of resources.

Kat was seated at the far end of the room in one of the chairs with a very large book in her lap. Apparently she wasn't finding the contents to her liking, judging by the face she was making while reading. It was a look of disgust mixed with disdain and a dash of sarcasm. I laughed to myself, and shut the door behind me.

The sound startled Kat from her reading, and she glanced up at me. I strode over and sat down in the chair next to hers. "So. Working hard? Or hardly working?" I asked.

"Both." She said with a smile. She gestured to the books that covered a nearby table. "Those I rented from the library at lunch. I forgot the Room of Requirement was so…accommodating," she waved her arm around to indicate the numerous bookshelves. "But they've all got a load of nothing in them," she concluded.

"What do you mean, nothing?" I asked.

"I mean nothing! None of these books tell us how to go about seeing the future!" she exclaimed. "They only thing they're good for is describing numerous ways to see the future…not actually doing it!"

I nodded, understanding completely, "Basically, you can't 'see the future' either, can you?" I concluded.

She shook her head angrily, "Of course not! And that's why we're going to fail, because I don't have a clue." She sighed, and slammed the book on her lap.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I can't see a thing either." I offered.

"Actually, that makes me feel worse."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The eerie silence of doom descended on us once more. Kat rubbed her temples, closing her eyes to think. I sat there, racking my brain for something to say. Something comforting, suave, something _right_ to say. The words wouldn't come.

"I guess all we can do is test each of these methods and hope that one of them actually works." I said, breaking the silence to prevent going mad.

"But how will we know if it works, Sirius!" Kat exclaimed. "If neither of us has ever 'seen' anything before, how will we know if it's a real vision or just our wishful thinking?"

"Well, I would assume that we would get some kind of feeling or vibe that would tell us that we are 'in the beyond'," I said, imitating Professor Trelawney.

Kat threw up her hands in frustration.

"Ok, fine, lets just try something then. Anything is better than sitting here arguing about it." I stated. This was true as far as I was concerned. If I was doing something I wouldn't be focused so much on the current issue between Kat and I.

She nodded in defeat, and rose to go to the bookshelves.

"What are you doing?" I asked, puzzled.

"Well, Mr. Genius, since neither of us know where to begin, I would think that the best place to start would be to consult a book." Kat snapped.

I wrinkled my nose. "But that's so boring! Why can't we just start doing random stuff like read tea leaves and squint into those crystal balls over there and hope something happens? It's Divination! It'll probably yield the same results anyway!"

The glare that Kat shot me clearly stated that we would do nothing of the sort. So we did a combination of the two. We brown-nosed it for a while, browsing through a ton of pointless books for any information of any sort. It's a wonder that people actually buy these kind of books. They don't really say anything, just sort of dance around with lots of flowery language. It gets kind of tiresome after a while.

After what seemed like hours (my eyelids were drooping and I may have even fallen asleep for all I know), we finally decided to screw the books for the night and try a couple of tests.

We did what I had suggested (tea leaves and crystal balls), but neither test brought us anything but a headache. The tea was disgusting and foul tasting, and I vowed to have a word with the house elves in the kitchen after tonight. After drinking it, the dregs of the tea swirled around and made 'psychic messages', which apparently neither of us could interpret (although I did see one image that looked like a decrepit old man, but Kat wouldn't believe me).

The crystal balls were no better. All we saw was pretty smoke that floated around and made us even sleepier. So far, this project thing was not turning out well.

A glance at a clock showed us that it was after midnight. Frustrated, we both decided to call it quits for the night. We packed up our things and left for the Common Room.

Great. So now we've got a bunch of useless books that aren't helping us in the least, some nasty tasting tea that I'm never going to drink again, and a crystal ball that's a piece of junk as well! Not to mention that I still haven't even gotten to talk with Kat.

I stole a glance at her. She was staring off ahead of her, apparently lost in thought. Her brown hair fell messily into her face, and her eyes were filled with confusion. She looked very…lost. Maybe she really is feeling the same thing that I am, whatever that is. Or maybe she's just upset about the project.

We reached the common room, and headed for our dormitories. Neither of us had said a word the whole walk here.

"Kat," I said, feeling a wild urge to say _something_.

"Yeah?" she said, startled. She looked at me for the first time directly. The impact was stunning. She wasn't only lost…there was this grief and emptiness in her eyes that I couldn't even begin to place. It was like she was hoping for something, willing for me to say something. Only problem was, I didn't know what to say.

"Er…I…when are we going to attempt this project again?" I stuttered. I mentally slugged myself for being a royal git and not saying anything.

"Oh," she replied. Her face fell, and she lowered her eyes once more, "I guess tomorrow. We'll need to work all we can on it if we're ever going to manage to pull this one off…"

She turned without another word and disappeared into her dormitory.

I am officially the biggest idiot in the world. The perfect opportunity had presented itself. I could have talked with her, it was what she wanted…. yet I didn't. I resolved to be more, well, resolved about the whole matter.

Resolved….

Suddenly, Trelawney's voice was echoing in my head_. 'This project will require you to delve into the depths of your partner's soul. You will have to familiarize yourself with their past history, in order to gain a clearer glimpse of what the future holds for them._'

The past, huh? I sprinted up to my dormitory, flung myself on James' bed, and began shaking him violently.

"Who---What---SIRIUS!" James stuttered, shoving me off of him roughly, "What the bloody hell are you doing!"

"Sorry, Prongsie, but I need to borrow your invisibility cloak." I replied, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

"It's in the trunk," he gestured towards the foot of his bed, "I'm going back to sleep now. If you have any more violent urges, wake Remus up, ok?"

I shrugged, "No problem,"

James fell back on the bed and was asleep almost instantly. I pulled the invisibility cloak from his trunk, slipped it on, and headed back down the stairs.

I made my way up the other set of stairs to the girl's dormitory. I tread quietly to prevent waking anyone up. I opened the door to the sixth year's room, and entered.

After a few failed attempts, I found Kat's bed. I nudged her gently.

"Kat," I whispered softly from under the cloak.

"Mmm," she murmured sleepily. Her eyes fluttered open and stared around, trying to find who was talking to her. I sat lightly on her bed and pulled the hangings shut, removing the cloak so that she could see me.

"Sirius!" she hissed, "what are you doing!" Her eyes were wide, disbelieving.

" I had to tell you something." I whispered back.

"And it couldn't wait until morning?" she said, incredulously.

"Well, it probably could have," I reasoned, lapsing into thought, "but it's better this way, it would have tormented me all night if I had waited."

"Can't have that now, can we?"

"That's right." I responded, smiling rather cheesily at her in the darkness. She smiled despite herself.

"So what is it?"

"Oh yeah," I said, forgetting for a minute why I'd came. "Trelawney said something about the past being the key to the future. So that means that any tests we try to perform right now are going to be useless until we know about each other's past."

"But we already know that!" Kat responded, "Our pasts are linked together, what's there to know?"

I hadn't considered this. I had thought that she would agree and say something along the lines of 'that's right, lets reminisce about old times and see what we come up with.' Guess I thought wrong. Hmmm…

"Well, the past is the key right? Maybe we're missing something?" I replied. That seemed to strike a nerve within Kat, as she stiffened up as I said it.

"I guess so…"

"Then we should start there at least. Tomorrow, we should talk it out and figure out if there's anything we can use." I stated. She nodded wordlessly.

I gave her a reassuring smile, and threw the cloak back over my head. Whispering goodbye, I left her dormitory, leaving Kat in even more turmoil.

On my walk back I breathed a sigh of relief. I was happy that we'd be talking soon…even if it was sort of forced upon us. However, the talk wasn't exactly appealing to me. I'd been dreading it for a while now. Kind of like an unpleasant visit to the doctor. You know it has to be done; yet you don't want to go.

Judging by Kat's body language, she apparently felt the same way to that effect, and was probably steeling herself for the confrontation as we speak. At least now I would learn what was tormenting her so. I hoped…

I lay down on my bed, throwing the invisibility cloak to the side carelessly. Thoughts consumed me. Sleep did not come.

**AN: ok I have a request. When u review, tell me who's POV chapter eight should be from, Kat or Sirius. hope u liked this chapter! It turned out rather longer than i anticipated lol.**

**Keep the reviews coming! It's what I thrive on!**


	8. The Conference

**Eyes of Infinity**

**OMG I am SOOO sorry for not updating in practically forever. Just letting everyone know that I didn't mean to abandon it for so long, just had writers block, and then not enuff time. But no worries! I intend to complete this fic if it's the last thing I do!**

**AN: **ok, results are up. The majority of you lovely people say that chapter eight should be from the POV of Kat. So here it is! I hope u all enjoy!

**XOXOXOXOXOXO **

**Marie Dantes **– I'm glad you like the whole Sirius POV thing. It would have been too hard to write it all from Kat's POV because then the reader would only be getting half the storie…fear not, just because I switched back to Kat's POV (due to popular demand) there shall be oodles more of Sirius in future chapters

**Silver angel 03 **– Thanx for reviewing, I tried to update fast, but writers block prevented me from doing so until now, dun hatez me!

**The Egyptian Sand Quill **– yay! My writing is amazing! Thanx for the compliment :takes bow: here's the next chappie!

**Chlo242** – I r so glad you luvz it! I luvz my wondermous storie too! Hope u like this chapter as well.

**Soredemo** – don't get upset at me cuz I didn't update:ducks for cover: I tried to update! But there was this evil place called 'Work' that I had to go to and the people there have been trying to kill me by working me to death…but here is the next chappie, so be happy! Hey that rhymed (is a poet and didn't know it)

**Silent Storm 2000** – Thanx, hope you enjoy!

**texasgrrl **– you're sure are you:imitates Prof. Trelawney: 'the future is yet to be seen, my dear. It is very unclear, and can change in an instant' muahahahahha anywho thanx for reviewing!

**XOXOXOXOXO**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it! Stop making assumptions!

From Kat's POV

**:Chapter Eight: The Conference:**

I stared at the ceiling tiredly. Well, tiredly wasn't really the word for it. I had been lying on my back on my bed, staring at the ceiling for a long time now. The dawn's reddish light had begun to shine into the room, signaling that it was time to start another day. I hadn't slept at all, but I wasn't tired. I was, sort of in a trance.

It was like one of those feelings you get when you know something unwelcome is about to happen; yet there is nothing you can do about it. Like you're sitting back watching the scene unfold, even though you're the one living it.

That was exactly what I had been feeling since last night.

Everything was happening so fast. This whole Divination project was taking on a life of its own, and destroying mine in the process. I had convinced myself that I would be fine, that I'd be able to pull this whole project off. But telling myself that was one thing. Doing it was something entirely different.

I shifted slightly in my bed, hoping the movement would break the monotony and the silence that encompassed the room. It didn't work.

Today would bring a whole new set of obstacles that would have to be overcome. A whole new level of stress. Sirius wanted to 'talk' about the past. I shuddered involuntarily. What was there to talk about?

There was a part of me that greatly wanted to talk to him. It had been aching to talk for the longest time now, ever since the first trace of distance between Sirius and I became noticeable. But talking could very well make the situation worse.

I guessed the only reason he was talking to me was because he thought it would help us to see into the future. Therefore he was only talking to me for the purpose of school. It wasn't a personal reason. He hadn't said 'hey Kat, we need to sit down and talk, as friends'. He had made it perfectly clear that he wanted to use the past experiences we shared as some sort of research tool in this project. My stomach lurched at that thought.

And the worst part was that there was nothing that I could do about it. The past _was _vital to seeing the future, and it was literally the only tool we had to use in our quest to predict what the future holds.

With a lump of dread in the pit of my stomach, which felt almost like a part of me now, I rose to begin the day.

It was still very early, but my racing thoughts still prevented me from gaining any sort of sleep, so instead, I pulled on a robe and headed down to the Common Room. I curled up in an armchair and let my thoughts race where they would.

It seemed like they were going in circles, and always kept coming back to the same question: what was I afraid of?

What _was_ I afraid of? It was the question that had been plaguing me for months, whether I was aware of it or not, and as much as I hated to admit it, I had no idea why I was feeling this way.

"My, my, we're up early this morning."

I jolted at the sound of the voice, and looked up to find Sirius standing there staring down at me, with that easy going smile on his face. Anger raced through me. How in the world could he be standing there so…so…calm! I was sitting here, feeling all sorts of god knows what, and he was just standing there SMILING! It took all the strength I had in me to restrain from knocking that stupid smile right off of his face.

"Um..Kat…? Is something wrong?"

Once again Sirius' voice broke through my thoughts. Apparently I had made some sort of face that had disarmed him, and now the smile was replaced by a look of concern.

"No, everything's just peachy," I retorted, more angrily than I had intended. I mumbled an apology and pulled my knees up to my chest.

"Apparently," he replied softly, giving me a small smile. "So, is waking up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday a new routine of yours, or is this just an attempt to try something new?"

"Oh, shut it," I spat, glaring at him. I was in no mood to be pitied by the source of my anguish. I don't know why, but the more he talked, the angrier I seemed to get. Maybe it was because all this confusion was finally getting to me. That must be it. I'm going insane. That's the only explanation….

"…And so," I heard Sirius drone on, "since we both seem to be awake at this glorious hour, when the sun doesn't even see fit to be awake, I was thinking we could work some more on the project."

At that my heart stopped. He wanted to work on it _now_? Why now! Didn't he have other things he could be doing on a Saturday, like sleeping for instance? Or hitting on any girl who walked past him? Or pulling pranks? Anything other than this!

"Why now?" was all that managed to escape my lips.

"Why not?" he replied, "surely it's got to be done sometime, and I figure the sooner we start on it, the sooner it will be finished." He grimaced after saying this, as if the words had came out wrong.

"Well personally, I don't see a need to work on it today." I stated coolly. He looked at me in a startled kind of way, his blue eyes searching for answers. Answers that I couldn't possibly have given him at that point. My brain was too confused. The common room was supposed to be empty at this hour, and so therefore I was supposed to be alone to think. But nooooo, the idiot had to show up and intrude on even that! He was in my common room, invading my thinking time, and all for the sake of a project, and the whole thing made me sick.

It felt like everything was spinning. All I knew was that I did _not _want to work on that damned project today. It was all so cruel! Here I was, feeling all insecure and a thousand other emotions, and all Sirius wanted to do was use that as some weird, twisted research tool in attempt to predict the future for some stupid class that I never believed in in the first place!

My eyes grew cloudy, and I fought to keep the tears from sliding down my face. "Look," I began slowly, making sure my voice didn't falter, "I don't mean to sound angry or anything. I'm just tired." I kept my face turned from Sirius so that he wouldn't see the weakness that was threatening to overcome me. "And we can't do this today anyway. I have tons of Transfiguration homework to do." I stood up and walked passed him, "I'm sorry," I said, barley audible, "maybe some other time okay?"

I started back up the stairs to my dormitory, breathing a sigh of relief that I would soon be in one place where Sirius couldn't follow me. Unless he had that damned invisibility cloak on! I growled at the thought.

"I saw that, you know."

Swearing, I jumped and whirled around to see Aryn standing behind me, leaning on the doorframe of the dormitory. "Don't do that!" I hissed at her, then, "Saw what?"

"Oh, just you, beating a hasty retreat out of there," said Aryn coyly, thoroughly enjoying herself, "You know just as well as I do that you finished all your Transfiguration ages ago!"

"Yeah? Well I've loads of other stuff to do as well today," I fumed back at her.

"Is that so? Like what?"

"Um…well-" I began.

"Just as I thought," Aryn stated, a grin on her face, "It's conference time, missy."

Before I could do anything more than stutter, I was being dragged down the stairs again, through the common room, and out the portrait hole. I was grateful that it was still insanely early in the morning and there wasn't an abundance of people congregating in the common room to witness my rather embarrassing exit. Aryn seemed oblivious to everything.

After some time of being dragged, she halted outside one of the empty classrooms that hadn't been used in awhile. She opened the door, shoved me inside, and cast a silencing spell on the room. She appeared quite pleased with herself.

I glared at her smug expression. "What on earth is all this about!" I exclaimed, "Dragging me all around the school to –"

"We're going to talk about what's bothering you," she said simply. She had such a calm demeanor when she said it that for a moment I just stood there open mouthed. After a few seconds, I tried to protest, but Aryn would have none of it. "I know something's bothering you, and I have a pretty good idea what that 'something' is. Or should I say 'who'?"

"Aryn…"

"How long are you going to keep this to yourself, Kat?" Aryn asked. Her dark eyes saddened as she gazed at me.

"I'm not keeping anything from anyone!" I yelled.

"Liar. You'd think after six years together, you'd trust me a little more. I know you better than you think, Kat." Aryn sighed to herself, then continued, "I know that you and Sirius (I shivered at the name) were really close once. You miss him, right?"

I paused. "Well…yeah… I mean, how can I not miss someone that I've known since I was four?"

Aryn smiled, "So tell _him_ that, why don't ya?"

"I can't! Honestly, if it were that simple, don't you think I'd have done it already?"

"It is that simple."

"No, it's not," I gestured with my hands as I struggled to find words, "It just doesn't feel right. Things aren't the same as they used to be."

"Well duh!" Aryn said, smirking, "You aren't kids anymore. But he is still your friend. And, whether you chose to believe it or not, he does still care about you."

"I never said he didn't"

"You didn't have to."

I furrowed my brow, "What do you mean?"

"You think that just because you aren't as close as you once were, he's forgotten all about you. You think that since he has all these other 'friends' he has no need for you at all."

"No," I sad shaking my head, "I didn't-"

"And now you're completely freaking over this whole Divination project because you're partnered with Sirius."

"I am not!"

"And you've spent so long trying to forget anything you ever knew about Sirius Black, any happy or hurtful memories you ever shared," Aryn continued relentlessly, "and you're so afraid that spending time with him might trigger an actual feeling or sentiment that will cause you to remember something that you once had, which you actually _still_ have."

I waited in silence for the onslaught to continue, but silence filled the empty classroom. I sunk into a chair and stared at the floor, letting the wave of the actual words hit me. I had to admit; it made some kind of weird, logical sense. Was this what I was afraid of? Was this what I couldn't admit to myself? If so…

"Kat," Aryn said, grabbing hold of my shoulders and kneeling down so that we were eye level, "You're my best friend…and personally, I could care less about Black. But I hate seeing you this way. So, troubled, unhappy."

"It's not like I do it for kicks," I retorted.

Aryn grinned, "I should hope not," she replied, pulling up a chair beside me. We sat there a few minutes together.

"Oh, and by the way," she continued, "and don't take this the wrong way or anything," she added hastily, "but sometimes…you just plain think too much, Kat."

"Huh?" I replied, dazedly.

"See! Too much thinking and not enough acting! I want you to do me a favor…no, wait! I want you to do _yourself _a favor."

"And this favor would be?" I asked suspiciously.

"Go back to the Common Room. Tell Sirius you want to work on the project some more."

"What! But I don't want to work on it! I still don't even know where to begin!"

"I thought you might say that," Aryn countered. She removed something from the pocket of her robes and pressed it into my hands. "I got these as a present from my grandmother when I was little. I want you to use them. Maybe you'll have some luck with that inner eye of yours."

I looked down to find set of Tarot Cards in my hands. "But Aryn, I can't take these! What if I lose them, or something happens to them…they were your grandmothers!"

"But I want you to use them. It's called a 'Haindl Deck' and it's the preferred deck used by Mystics, and those seeking 'enlightenment'" Aryn gave me a reassuring smile, "Don't worry. It'll all be fine. I'm sure of it."

I blinked back tears at the genuine trust and caring Aryn held for me, "Thank you," I said, my voice nearly breaking, "for the talk. And for these. I'll take really good care of them."

"I know." I could've sworn there were tears in her eyes too.

We sat there, in companionable silence for I don't know how long. I felt much better than I had in days. I guess it helps to know that when I'm on the verge of self-destruction, I have someone like Aryn Hillcrest to stop me from going over the edge.

Aryn seemed to be more at ease too. I knew that Sirius wasn't anywhere near one of her favorite people. It had taken a lot of guts to say what she had today.

It wasn't until the morning sun started to shine its way into the classroom, and the footsteps of students were heard in the halls outside that Aryn and I realized how much time had passed.

"So," Aryn stated, breaking the comfortable silence, "we should get going. We're going to miss breakfast at this rate."

"Yeah," I replied, getting up from my chair, "let's go."

**AN: ohhh I know there are gonna b pplz that hate me for this lol. But do not be afraid! This is actually a two parter! I was gonna make it all just one really big chapter 8, but then decided to make it 2 chapters instead…so yes, chapter nine is nearing completion, but I've decided to hold off on posting it until I get some reviews on THIS chapter. So…lets get crackin, shall we?**


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